Supreme Court restricts use of geofence warrants

6 hours ago

The Supreme Court limited police use of geofence warrants, which tap tech databases to find people near a crime scene.
In a 6-3 ruling, Justice Elena Kagan stated geofencing violates the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches.
A geofence warrant creates a virtual boundary where police can request user location data from companies like Google.
The case involved a Virginia bank robbery where police used a geofence warrant to identify suspects via Google data.
Google initially found 19 people but provided only three names, leading to one suspect's confession and conviction.
Defense argued geofence searches let the government 'search first, suspect later,' potentially affecting millions.
The government claimed location data isn't constitutionally protected if users voluntarily share it with companies.

Hasty Briefsbeta